Along the way: a multi-method examination of tourism, identity, and community values on Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way

Background Marine and coastal tourism plays an indisputably crucial role in global tourism, yet there remains a dearth of academic attention afforded to coastal tourism trails in the Irish context. Cultural aspects of tourism in Ireland are significantly linked, indicating the importance for its sustainable growth in the future. There is a synergism that exists between concepts of culture, tourism, and sustainability. However, contentions also exist where there are stakeholder conflicts, management priorities are disjointed, or the globalisation of cultural tourism resources outcompete authentic representations of culture and heritage. This research is an investigation into place, identity, sustainability through the lens of tourism using Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way as a case study. Through the use of interdisciplinary methods, this thesis explores the attitudes of those who ‘do’ tourism on the Wild Atlantic Way, the values and empowerment of the communities that host them, and perspectives of the National Tourism Development Authority which markets the initiative. Aim The primary aim of this thesis is to critically examine how the Wild Atlantic Way initiative impacts communities along its route. Six main objectives guide the research, including an in-depth review of current academic and policy literature related to marine and coastal tourism trails, cultural and heritage tourism in Ireland, and community-led tourism projects. Foundational to the themes of this research, the identification and analysis of relevant conceptual perspectives of place making and identity is presented through the lens of geography and tourism. The development of a novel methodological research design to holistically explore the tourism system of the Wild Atlantic Way is employed to explore tourist attitudes of the initiative and experiences, investigate community sense of place and identities, and assess industry perspectives of the route. Development of a co-created practical framework (TOUR) serves as a guide for collaborative engagement between communities and agency partners for future development of the Wild Atlantic Way initiative. Methods This thesis employs an innovative multi-method approach to holistically examine stakeholder perspectives of the Wild Atlantic Way initiative on Ireland’s west coast. Tourist perceptions are gathered at six locations along the route via face-to-face survey questionnaires (n=603), deployed by the RedC research organisation. An in-depth community level examination of the tourism initiative’s impacts is conducted in the village of Rathmullan, Co. Donegal through the use of semi-structured interviews, Q method analysis, and a participatory mapping workshop (n=18). Additionally, representatives from the National Tourism Development Authority, Fáilte Ireland, contribute their perspectives of the Wild Atlantic Way initiative through semi-structured interviews. Findings Empirical findings indicate that tourists on the Wild Atlantic Way are seeking ‘authentic’ Irish experiences, framed by the unique geography of Ireland’s west coast. Results highlight the value of local knowledge and place-making in the development of cultural tourism initiatives. Concepts of place are shaped and reshaped to reflect authentic representations of communities, while also evolving as a place for tourism. Authentic representations of community identities, culture, sense of place, and place attachment are essential for sustained success of community-based tourism along the Wild Atlantic Way. Reciprocity between partnered stakeholders of the Wild Atlantic Way is needed to foster sustainable growth of community-led tourism opportunities. Conclusion and Discussion Research presented in this thesis shows that the Wild Atlantic Way, as a top-down initiative in practice, significantly impacts communities both economically and socially. Derived from results of Phase I and II of this study, the co-created Collaborative TOUR Framework is introduced. Within the context of the Rathmullan community, the TOUR Framework is reflected on as a tool for identifying and targeting tourism-related issues within a community to assess opportunities for sustainable development solutions. The use of the TOUR Framework recentres the community and local knowledge in planning and decision-making related to tourism development in their region, promoting empowerment, authenticity, and equity. A series of recommendations for future research are offered, related to the use of the innovative multi-method research design in exploring community-led tourism systems and the use of the TOUR Framework in the development and planning of tourism trails in other locations.2024-12-1